Joey is the pup I am holding with dark ears. Parker is holding our old dog Clayton.

I had to wait 31 years to get my first Great Pyrenees sheep dog. I had wanted one of these dogs since I was a little girl. We would go to sheep shows and see the cute little puppies. I begged my daddy for one, nothing ever worked, he always turned me down with a firm No way!

I had entered a leadership program with Ohio Farm Bureau and one of my classmates mentioned he had a female Pyrenees with puppies on board. I told him I was in for a puppy. I didn’t tell anyone because I knew bringing home a sheep dog would not go over well with the men in my life. Lets be honest, who could ever get mad when you come home with a 8 week old fluff ball right?!

The puppies were born and I loaded up the kids and my mom who had now become part of my puppy plot. We drove 2.5 hours to their farm. We got to the barn and were in love, the kids wanted them all. The mamma was exceptional and raised all 11 puppies. We decided to pick out not one but two puppies, one for us and one for my mom and dad. We had to wait another month to bring our puppies home and it was so exciting. It was a good thing they are irresistibly cute because there were a few people un-happy with the new additions to the barns but they got over it…eventually. I can not imagine the barns without the boys. When raising sheep it does make you sleep a little better knowing we have two professionals out in the pastures guarding our animals.

Fast Facts:

Something that people find interesting is that while the dogs are large its not their size that scares away predators alone, its really their big bark. They do bark often especially at night because they are warning predators from coming close. Their bark pushes back dens of coyotes and keeps them at bay.

These dogs have a double coat. The outside layer has long, straight or slightly wavy hair while the undercoat is a soft down which protects these big dogs from water, cold and to some degree, heat. So, no fear when you see the boys outside in sub zero temperatures, they are made to weather hot or cold.

Want more information on Great Pyrenees? A farm friend of my Kate who is also a sheep farmer raises Great Pyrenees working dogs. She has a lot of fun and interesting FAQS on her site Uptown Farms.